The Trump administration is racing to stop California from counting ballots cast by alleged noncitizen voters, appealing to the 9th Circuit — as state officials fight back against a federal list of more than 20,000 people.

The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal Thursday, arguing that US District Judge David O. Carter’s silence effectively denied its bid to stop California from sending and counting mail-in ballots cast by allegedly ineligible voters until their citizenship is verified.

“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s an emergency, and we expect the courts to treat it as such.”

The DOJ filed its lawsuit Oct. 15 and sought emergency relief four days later, asking the court to issue an injunction and rule by noon Thursday.

With no ruling issued by that deadline, federal attorneys appealed what they described as a constructive denial of their request.

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The dispute centers on a federal list of more than 20,000 people that California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan did not review within the department’s requested timeframe.

California is pushing back. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office moved to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday night, while Weber questioned the federal list’s research and warned against removing voters without adequate documentation.

The appeal raises the stakes as the administration presses for swift judicial action and California officials challenge its allegations.